Re: [PATCH v8 0/5] MT8196 GPU Frequency/Power Control Support

Steven Price
2025-10-24T13:09:08Z

On 22/10/2025 14:52, Ulf Hansson wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Oct 2025 at 17:32, Nicolas Frattaroli
> <nicolas.frattaroli@collabora.com> wrote:
>>
>> This series introduces two new drivers to accomplish controlling the
>> frequency and power of the Mali GPU on MediaTek MT8196 SoCs.
>>
>> The reason why it's not as straightforward as with other SoCs is that
>> the MT8196 has quite complex glue logic in order to squeeze the maximum
>> amount of performance possible out of the silicon. There's an additional
>> MCU running a specialised firmware, which communicates with the
>> application processor through a mailbox and some reserved memory, and is
>> in charge of controlling the regulators, the PLL clocks, and the power
>> gating of the GPU, all while also being in charge of any DVFS control.
>>
>> This set of drivers is enough to communicate desired OPP index limits to
>> the aforementioned MCU, referred to as "GPUEB" from here on out. The
>> GPUEB is still free to lower the effective frequency if the GPU has no
>> jobs going on at all, even when a higher OPP is set.
>>
>> The power- and frequency control driver, mtk-mfg-pmdomain, is now
>> implemented as a power domain driver, with a set_performance_state
>> operation. It also exposes itself as a clock provider, so that panthor
>> can read the actual achieved DVFS clock rate as per the GPUEB firmware.
>>
>> This power domain approach means that panthor does not need to know
>> about how the frequency control works on this SoC, as the OPP core
>> framework already takes care of it. The only exception is that panthor
>> needs to not register OPPs from DT itself if there already is an OPP
>> table present.
>>
>> The mailbox driver is a fairly bog-standard common mailbox framework
>> driver, just specific to the firmware that runs on the GPUEB. It was
>> merged in v6.18 already.
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Nicolas Frattaroli <nicolas.frattaroli@collabora.com>
>
> This looks good to me!
>
> I can certainly pick up patch2 and patch5, but before I go ahead I
> just wanted to check what is the preferred merging strategy?
>
> The drm/gpu patches can go independently from the pmdomain patches
> others, right? In either case, I can pick this complete series too via
> my pmdomain tree, if that makes sense for everyone. Please let me
> know.

I'm about to go on holiday, so I'm not about to merge and run ;)
But I'm happy if you want to take the complete series through your tree.

Thanks,
Steve

> Kind regards
> Uffe
>
>> ---
>> Changes in v8:
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: remove unused shmem variable that caused a warning
>> on GCC, but not clang
>> - Link to v7: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20251015-mt8196-gpufreq-v7-0-0a6435da2080@collabora.com
>>
>> Changes in v7:
>> - panthor: rename "t" to "table"
>> - panthor: add code comment explaining why an existing OPP table is
>> being checked for
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: use GF_REG_MAGIC offset for sake of consistency
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: remove redundant semicolon after mtk_mfg_mt8196_init
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: fix resource leaks on probe failure
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: enable/disable EB clock during MT8196 init, which is
>> needed for the register read
>> - Rebase onto next-20251014, which drops already merged patches, namely
>> mailbox driver+bindings, and drops the ASN_HASH patch series
>> dependency, which was also merged
>> - Link to v6: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20251003-mt8196-gpufreq-v6-0-76498ad61d9e@collabora.com
>>
>> Changes in v6:
>> - mailbox: move buf definition into if condition, as per Chia-I Wu
>> - panthor: remove the redundant NULL checks in panthor_devfreq_get_freq
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: adjust return style consistency
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: add docstring for mtk_mfg_send_ipi to explain it's
>> blocking
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: use CMD_FIX_DUAL_TARGET_OPPIDX instead of
>> CMD_FIX_TARGET_OPPIDX.
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: reword code comments to not be in the "we" style
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: shuffle around mbox allocations as per Angelo
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: don't pointlessly turn on EB clock in probe,
>> reducing the need for a comment explaining the bookkeeping
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: consistently use dev_err_probe and Capitalise first
>> letter of error string
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: get rid of redundant ret = dev_err_probe assignment
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: reintroduce stack OPP table, choose min(gpu, stack)
>> when adding frequencies. Fixes gaps in OPP levels where only stack
>> changed, but gpu had duplicates, which resulted in choosing a too slow
>> OPP
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: stub round_rate clk op to opt out of CCF always
>> "rounding" a devfreq rate request to the current rate
>> - Link to v5: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20250929-mt8196-gpufreq-v5-0-3056e5ecf765@collabora.com
>>
>> Changes in v5:
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain binding: add memory-regions property, remove shmem
>> property, as we now correctly describe the shared memory as a regular
>> memory region
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain binding: get rid of redundant |
>> - drop "dt-bindings: sram: Add compatible for
>> mediatek,mt8196-gpufreq-sram" as part of the move to reserved memory
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: move to using reserved-memory for GPUEB shared
>> memory
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: demote some types to smaller sizes in struct
>> mtk_mfg, as per Angelo's suggestions
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: use units.h for Hz-to-KHz
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: change for loop in attach_dev to reduce indentation
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: simplify return in mtk_mfg_power_off
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: move of_device_id after probe
>> - mtk_mfg_pmdomain: map mmio by index
>> - mtk_mfg_pmdomain: add error checking to pm_genpd_init()
>> - mtk_mfg_pmdomain: add remove function
>> - mtk_mfg_pmdomain: remove last_opp member and logic, since OPP core
>> already does that for us
>> - mtk_mfg_pmdomain: adjust comment in mtk_mfg_set_performance to explain
>> why we're doing what we're doing
>> - mtk_mfg_pmdomain: call mtk_mfg_set_oppidx in mtk_mfg_power_on with
>> the performance_state we deferred setting while it was powered off
>> - mtk_mfg_pmdomain: add inline function for PWR_ACK checking, as it's
>> now used twice with the added remove function
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: add suppress_bind_attrs so people don't play with
>> that
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: change KConfig from tristate to bool, as module
>> unloading results in strange likely firmware-induced hardware state
>> woes in the mali GPU
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: read IPI magic in power_on, don't zero it after
>> confirming that seemingly had no purpose
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: misc style changes
>> - Link to v4: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20250923-mt8196-gpufreq-v4-0-6cd63ade73d6@collabora.com
>>
>> Changes in v4:
>> - rebase onto next-20250922, which includes Laura Nao's clock patches
>> - refactor mediatek_mfg into a pmdomain driver called "mtk-mfg-pmdomain"
>> - move mt8196-gpufreq binding to the power subdirectory
>> - mali-valhall-csf binding: adjust for power-domains usage
>> - mali-valhall-csf binding: use clocks on mt8196
>> - mailbox: prefix defines with "GPUEB_"
>> - mailbox: get rid of custom of_xlate
>> - mailbox: rename "CLOGGED" to "BLOCKED"
>> - mailbox: adjust send_data comment to include more technical info
>> - mailbox: misc style improvements
>> - panthor: drop "drm/panthor: devfreq: make get_dev_status use
>> get_cur_freq", as it is now not necessary and makes the code worse
>> - panthor: drop "drm/panthor: devfreq: add pluggable devfreq providers"
>> - panthor: drop "drm/panthor: add no_clocks soc_data member for MT8196",
>> as we now have clocks courtesy of gpufreq
>> - panthor: check for existing opp table before registering a new one
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: add turbo_below variant data, which marks OPPs below
>> a certain index as turbo for the OPP subsystem
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: no longer read stack OPPs, as they weren't used
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: get rid of num gpu opp != num stack opp check.
>> That's the firmware's problem should it ever happen, not ours
>> - mtk-mfg-pmdomain: some small name and whitespace changes on the defines
>> - Link to v3: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20250917-mt8196-gpufreq-v3-0-c4ede4b4399e@collabora.com
>>
>> Changes in v3:
>> - mali-valhall-csf binding: get rid of clocks for MT8196, rebase onto
>> Chia-I Wu's patch
>> - mt8196-gpufreq binding: rename hw_revision to hw-revision
>> - mt8196-gpufreq binding: rename clocks
>> - mt8196-gpufreq binding: drop pointless label in example
>> - mailbox binding: drop pointless label in example
>> - mailbox: whitespace changes on defines
>> - mailbox: remove rx_buf member from channel struct, use stack buffer
>> - mailbox: check in probe that no rx_len exceeds MBOX_MAX_RX_SIZE
>> - panthor: add no_clocks SoC data patch, also rebase onto Chia-I Wu's
>> series
>> - panthor: refactor devfreq provider functionality to do allocation and
>> initialisation of panthor_devfreq struct in panthor in all cases
>> - panthor: drop the patch that moves struct panthor_devfreq to a header
>> file, as it no longer needs to be exposed to devfreq providers
>> - mediatek_mfg: refactor devfreq provider functionality to decouple it
>> more from panthor itself
>> - mediatek_mfg: move SRAM magic to a #define
>> - mediatek_mfg: begrudgingly rename member "padding_lol" to "reserved"
>> - mediatek_mfg: use local struct device pointer var in more places
>> - mediatek_mfg: change wording of sleep command failure error message,
>> but keep the format specifier because I don't want to throw bare
>> errnos at users
>> - mediatek_mfg: remove unnecessary braces around dev_err EB power off
>> timeout message
>> - mediatek_mfg: allocate rx_data for channels that expect a response
>> - mediatek_mfg: memcpy the rx buffer from the common mailbox framework
>> in the rx callback to rx_data, as mssg now points to stack memory
>> - mediatek_mfg: make SRAM clearing message dev_dbg
>> - mediatek_mfg: no longer print physical address of SRAM
>> - mediatek_mfg: expand on the GF_REG_OPP_TABLE_STK comment, toning down
>> its defeatist attitude in the process
>> - mediatek_mfg: style fixes in mtk_mfg_get_closest_opp_idx
>> - mediatek_mfg: rename clocks and hw-revision reg as per binding
>> - Link to v2: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20250912-mt8196-gpufreq-v2-0-779a8a3729d9@collabora.com
>>
>> Changes in v2:
>> - mali-valhall-csf binding: move from performance-controller to
>> performance-domains property
>> - mali-valhall-csf binding: fix vendor name oopsie in compatible of if
>> condition
>> - mt8196-gpufreq binding: move from performance-controller to
>> performance-domains by adding the cells property
>> - mt8196-gpufreq binding: rename e2_id to hw_revision
>> - mt8196-gpufreq binding: add description that mentions "MediaTek
>> Flexible Graphics"
>> - mt8196-gpufreq binding: get rid of mailbox channels we're unlikely to
>> use any time soon, if ever
>> - mt8196-gpufreq binding: change name of mailbox channels to use -
>> instead of _
>> - mailbox binding: change reg-names to "data" and "ctl"
>> - drm/panthor: mediatek_mfg: rename e2_id to hw_revision
>> - drm/panthor: devfreq: switch from performance-controller to
>> performance-domains
>> - drm/panthor: devfreq: get rid of the accidental get_cur_freq function
>> move
>> - mailbox: rename mtk_gpueb_mbox_ch to mtk_gpueb_mbox_chan_desc
>> - mailbox: use smaller types in mtk_gpueb_mbox_chan_desc where possible
>> - mailbox: add per-channel runtime data struct
>> - mailbox: request one threaded IRQ per channel, pass channel struct as
>> data
>> - mailbox: make num_channels in variant struct u8
>> - mailbox: get rid of no_response, as it was redundant
>> - mailbox: enable and disable clock in mailbox startup/shutdown
>> - mailbox: point con_priv of mailbox framework channel struct to this
>> driver's channel struct
>> - mailbox: request and free the threaded IRQ in startup/shutdown
>> - mailbox: only clear IRQ bit flag once RX data has been read from MMIO
>> - mailbox: reduce needlessly large receive buffer size
>> - mailbox: handle allocation errors wherever they could pop up
>> - mailbox: style cleanups in mtk_gpueb_mbox_read_rx
>> - mailbox: call platform_get_irq earlier on in probe
>> - mailbox: set drvdata later on in probe
>> - mailbox: ioremap resources by index, not name
>> - mailbox: handle devm_mbox_controller_register errors
>> - mailbox: rename channels to correspond to bindings
>> - mailbox: document a few of the private driver structs to be kind to
>> the next person who will look at this code
>> - Link to v1: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20250905-mt8196-gpufreq-v1-0-7b6c2d6be221@collabora.com
>>
>> ---
>> Nicolas Frattaroli (5):
>> dt-bindings: gpu: mali-valhall-csf: add mediatek,mt8196-mali variant
>> dt-bindings: power: Add MT8196 GPU frequency control binding
>> drm/panthor: call into devfreq for current frequency
>> drm/panthor: Use existing OPP table if present
>> pmdomain: mediatek: Add support for MFlexGraphics
>>
>> .../bindings/gpu/arm,mali-valhall-csf.yaml | 37 +-
>> .../bindings/power/mediatek,mt8196-gpufreq.yaml | 117 +++
>> drivers/gpu/drm/panthor/panthor_devfreq.c | 62 +-
>> drivers/gpu/drm/panthor/panthor_devfreq.h | 2 +
>> drivers/gpu/drm/panthor/panthor_device.h | 3 -
>> drivers/gpu/drm/panthor/panthor_drv.c | 4 +-
>> drivers/pmdomain/mediatek/Kconfig | 16 +
>> drivers/pmdomain/mediatek/Makefile | 1 +
>> drivers/pmdomain/mediatek/mtk-mfg-pmdomain.c | 1044 ++++++++++++++++++++
>> 9 files changed, 1268 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)
>> ---
>> base-commit: 3477f49ff0433a241da12ec9cecf6c9b2bd1c6f8
>> change-id: 20250829-mt8196-gpufreq-a7645670d182
>>
>> Best regards,
>> --
>> Nicolas Frattaroli <nicolas.frattaroli@collabora.com>
>>